


joy in a strange place

by aestrales



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Arranged Marriage, Everyone's a gay disaster, F/F, Fake/Pretend Relationship, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-09-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 18:22:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26493307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aestrales/pseuds/aestrales
Summary: Based on this amazing artwork & AU by sword-over-water on tumblr!https://sword-over-water.tumblr.com/post/622927846499876864/zukka-and-mailee-modern-au-im-just-gonna-go-andZuko and Mai are, for all intents and purposes, engaged. Which would be absolutely fine- or at least bearable- if they weren't both hardcore crushing on two other students.
Relationships: Mai/Ty Lee (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 5
Kudos: 65





	joy in a strange place

**Author's Note:**

> So I wrote this a while ago because I loved the artwork that inspired it so much, and I would absolutely love to continue it when I have the time again! But I'm sharing this now before my inner perfectionist tells me to delete it all. Title is from Dr John by Mika (although something from Blame It On The Girls would definitely have been more fitting).

To anyone else, they looked like a very cosy young couple, presenting their relationship to the world. Zuko’s right arm linked in Mai’s left, both dressed in designer formalwear that they did not pick out. Grey haired businessmen murmured to each other, casting glances in their direction, and one or two of their wives was actually bold enough to point. They chuckle to each other about how sweet the young couple looks together, how they can’t even stand to be apart in this party. They watch as Mai leans into Zuko and whispers in his ear, wondering what she might be saying to him, what sweet nothings they’re exchanging.  
“I can stab the next old asskisser to come up to you.”  
“Tempting offer. Sorely tempting, actually.”  
“This cardigan itches.”  
“My collar is digging into me.”  
“When can we leave?”  
“Another forty minutes.”  
“If we pretend we’re leaving to have sex we could make that half an hour. Nobody’s gonna stop two lovebirds.”  
“Gross.”  
“I know.”

“Zuko!” One of the old men has broken ranks to approach them. Zuko feels long fingernails digging into his arm and sees Mai take a long swig of her Sauvignon Blanc in his peripheral vision.

“Mr Zhao. How good to see you again.” Zuko briefly wonders if Mai has any knives up her sleeve at this moment, and what the consequences would be, exactly, if she was to use them. He knows she’s thinking the same thing.

“How is your girlfriend?” Zhao glances at Mai, but keeps his focus on Zuko.  
“I’m just peachy.” Mai responds. Zuko smiles- his fake smile, for occasions like these.  
Zhao bothers Zuko for several more minutes, and Mai’s fingernails dig into his arm every so often to punctuate Zhao’s sentences. It’s a relief, to have someone beside him who’s thinking exactly what he is. Who hates this just as much as he does.

That’s how he knows it’ll be fine when they’re married. They’ll just be roommates with tax benefits, essentially, and allies at every ridiculous party his father makes him attend.  
Zhao leaves, and Zuko’s phone buzzes.

“Sokka again?” Zuko pulls it out to check. One glance at the screen confirm’s Mai’s suspicions- or accusations, or whatever you’d call them. Zuko can’t totally explain the guilty feeling he gets, looking at a text from Sokka at a party, standing next to his fiancee, for all intents and purposes. Not that Mai cares. Well, he doesn’t know how much she knows. Sometimes it’s as though Mai has a direct line to his thoughts. It’s wishful thinking, but maybe he never has to say anything to her because she already knows. He really hates saying what he’s thinking.

Sokka approached Zuko in one of the common rooms one day, demanding to know if he was a firebender, and if he could help a guy out because his microwave had broken and he really needed this heated up, there’s this test in a couple hours and I’m not doing it on an empty stomach and so I just really need some help, could you possibly, and Zuko nodded without speaking and took the plate from him. Except that he made the mistake of making the plate warm as well, and Sokka nearly burned his hand off, so Zuko insisted on getting him a new plate from one of the communal kitchens, which he had never really been inside before, and Sokka had to tell him where the plates were kept while running his hand under the cold tap, which resulted in a lengthy charade of ‘no, not that cupboard, the one on the left, no, other left,’ until eventually Zuko sat with Sokka in the untidy student kitchen, testing Sokka from his notes inbetween bites.

And Zuko thought that would be the last of it. That this kind of goofy guy with a beautiful smile and his sheer shirts would pass him a few more times in the hall, maybe smile at him, and then forget about him.

But he tracked Zuko down again. Which was skilled work, since Zuko was rarely anywhere but his bedroom or his father’s house. But Sokka caught him in a corridor coming out of a class, and skidded to a halt in front of him.

“I just wanted to thank you for yesterday. I aced the test.” Sokka waved a piece of paper in Zuko’s startled face.  
“Oh. Uh, I- you’re welcome.” Zuko stammered. Mai had been behind him when he left the room, he could have sworn it, but now she had disappeared, leaving him and Sokka blocking the corridor as students swarmed out from behind them.

“So, where are you headed?”  
“Uh. Library.”  
“Me too! Wanna walk together?”  
“Sure.” Where the hell was Mai?  
By the time they reached the Library, so much of the awkwardness Zuko had felt dissipated. He was still pretty quiet, but every time he shot a question Sokka’s way it covered several minutes worth of conversation.

“So, what’s with the sheer shirts?”  
“Oh. Fire Nation climate is unbearable. I thought I’d get used to the heat, but it’s- it’s seriously bad.”  
“Then why’d you come to a Fire Nation university?”  
“I got a scholarship. I definitely couldn’t afford to come here otherwise- I’d have been stuck with a Water Tribe school, and their courses aren’t as good.”  
Zuko didn’t really know what to say to that. He never knew what the right thing to say was on the subject of money, but luckily before he could even finish that thought Sokka had moved on. “I do miss my family though. My dad and my sister- she’ll be a freshman next year, at the Northern Water Tribe university. Dad’ll hate for us both to be so far away, but I’m moving back there as soon as I graduate.”

They were at the door to the library now. “Well, I’ll see you later. Thanks again.” And Sokka turned and walked back the way he had come.  
“Oh, uh- bye.” Zuko paused. Wasn’t he coming inside? He said he was going to the library. Why would he have walked all that way with Zuko, only to turn back in the direction of the dorms?

After that, Sokka seemed to find Zuko whenever he left his room. They walked between classes together, they went out for coffee, and they exchanged numbers so that they could text in the library and not disturb anyone else.

Zuko opened the notification. His phone background was a picture of him and Mai, as was to be expected. She had dragged him into one of her mirror selfies when they were getting ready to go out together last month, and he figured it made sense to make it his lockscreen.  
But his homescreen was actually a picture of Mai, aged 16, after Zuko had tried to apply Azula’s lipstick on her. They’d hidden for an hour inside Zuko’s closet to avoid Azula’s subsequent tantrum when she found the smooshed tip of her favourite red.

The text from Sokka read ‘Hey, how’s the party going?’  
‘bad.’ Brief, but honest. That was more than most people got out of him.  
‘Me and Ty Lee are getting dinner in an hour. Bring Mai for a debrief?’  
‘sounds good.’  
“It’s Ty Lee and I.” Zuko jumped- he hadn’t seen Mai reading the texts over his shoulder.  
“You wanna come?”  
“Sure. Ty Lee’s nice.” Mai swallowed. Her wine glass was empty now, and she scowled at it.  
“Refill?” Zuko offered.  
“Please.” He took Mai’s glass and disappeared into the throng, where he was instantly hounded by more of his father’s colleagues.

Mai stared around at the partygoers. Several were eyeing her with interest, and it was all she could do not to roll her eyes. She’d been attending parties like this since she could walk. Many of them with Zuko. She’d gone around in her little red dress to smile at the party guests. Then she’d hidden away with Zuko, who ran out to fetch food every so often, braving the towering party guests to bring back handfuls of chocolate to Mai, hiding behind the curtain.

Both their fathers were successful businessmen and good friends, and everything they did was to further their own business. Mai and Zuko had been persuaded into becoming business majors, or rather had the decision made for them. And since there had been a fortuitous merger opportunity around the time they started college, it made sense for their families to suggest an informal engagement. Zuko and Mai’s relationship became a sort of symbol of goodwill between the companies, hence the interests of the guests.  
Mai sighed as she watched the glass of wine in Zuko’s hand almost slip, stopped in his tracks by a middle aged woman with coiffed hair vying for his attention.

She already knew just about everything there was to know about Zuko, including things she hadn’t told him. Most of it from her own intuition, some of it from the time Azula stole Zuko’s diary and gave Mai a dramatic reading. He still hadn’t forgiven her for that.  
He probably knew just as much about her. Did he know that much about her? Did he have the same suspicions she did about him? It was a strange coincidence, if so. Maybe it was the reason they had been such good friends as kids. But seriously, Zuko looked at Sokka like he invented the dang sun. It was painfully obvious.

Mai wasn’t that bad, was she? Of course not. While people often thought they were similar, Zuko was quiet out of awkwardness, and Mai out of stubborness. There was a difference.

***

Ty Lee spent an awful lot of time in the gym, but she rarely went near the strength training areas. The gym was divided into several different spaces, and one of them was a long room with targets at one end, several of which were charred beyond recognition. A girl with a thick, dark fringe and shiny black hair tied back off her face was hurling knives against one such target, striking the centre almost every time. As she finished one volley, she looked one way and then the other to see that nobody else was throwing fires or sharp implements before going to collect her own knives from the target. It was then that she spotted Ty Lee, who realised with shock that she had been staring.

She turned away suddenly, but the dark-haired girl had turned back and didn’t spare Ty Lee a second glance. She’d definitely seen her, so why had she ignored it? Another volley of knives began, but there was something more forceful this time. Something more considered in the girl’s stance, and a little tension in her shoulders. Ty Lee tried to turn around, to leave and head to the changing rooms, to move away, but she could only stare.

The girl was wearing only a sports bra and a pair of baggy, burgundy trousers, along with a pair of black gloves. Her shoulders glistened with sweat, and her lean upper body muscles shifted over each other as she moved.

Moments like this, Ty Lee wondered how she ever dated Sokka.  
Okay, strictly speaking she was pansexual. She really had been attracted to Sokka, and to other guys as well, but she’d never been struck dumb by any of them. It was different, she figured, between guys and girls. She knew how to flirt with boys. She was on an even playing field with them, even when she found them super attractive. But girls? Girls were a completely different ball game.

Especially girls like this.  
Holy smokes.  
The girl hadn’t seen her, she didn’t think. Or hadn’t paid her any mind. It couldn’t possibly hurt to say something, something nice, and then just walk away. That would be what she’d do.  
She retrieved her knives, and Ty Lee met her at the other end of the room.

“Can I help you?” She asked, and Ty Lee registered somewhere in the recesses of her panicking brain that this girl had a seriously nice voice. Deep and smooth and thoroughly disinterested.  
“I just- you have great form.” The girl looked her up and down. “Your sidearm throw is really impressive.”  
“Thanks.” She looked like she was about to return to her throwing, when she added, “I’m Mai.”  
“Ty Lee.”  
“How’d you know about form?”  
“I’m an athlete. Mostly gymnastics, and physical therapy.”  
“Huh.”  
“You actually- you have amazing muscles.”  
“Thanks.”  
“If you ever, uh, need any help, let me know. That kind of throwing can make you sore, and you wouldn’t wanna injure yourself. If you want any help, you know, I can practice some massage techniques on you.” Mai turned around to look at Ty Lee with an unreadable expression. “You know, just to help out. I can get some, uh, practice in, and you can avoid injuries!” She beamed, trying to hide her nerves.  
“That sounds cool. Thanks.” Mai turned back around, and Ty Lee sensed that was her cue to leave. She all but scarpered into the changing rooms, attempting to catch her breath.

***

“Oh my spirits, you’re a disaster.”  
“I know, I know!” Ty Lee buried her face in her hands. “Stop laughing at me, Sokka!”  
Sokka did not comply.  
“I can’t believe you.”  
“Well you better believe me. I didn’t tell you the whole story yet.”  
“Go on.”  
“I went back out to finish my workout, and she caught me in the changing rooms later and gave me her number.”  
“No way! Nice one, Ty.”  
“I mean, it’s just because she wants my help.”  
“Oh, sure.”  
“It is!”  
“Well, I’m sure she’ll appreciate your, uh, physical expertise.”

As soon as he finished the sentence, he received a blush pink cushion straight to the face. “Thanks for that,” He said, picking it up from the floor, “I’ve been really homesick recently. It’s like Katara’s in the room with me.”  
“If you really miss Katara that much, I can lecture you. How’s Zuko for a topic?”  
“I never should have let you two meet.”

Strictly speaking, the ‘Zuko Thing’ as it had come to be known, would only have made Katara roll her eyes. It was only Ty Lee who was concerned- actually, only her who knew. But Sokka received near daily lectures on how he should just go for it, and what’s the worst that could happen, and he’s definitely interested in you.  
He wished he could pluck up the courage.

***

Ozai had insisted on dropping his son and future daughter-in-law at the restaurant in his own car. He was in a glowing mood after the party, and monologued to his fellow passengers with little regard for whether they were actually listening. As Mai and Zuko climbed out of the backseat, he got out with them, insisting on greeting their friends despite Zuko’s attempted protests.

Sokka was wearing one of the few shirts of his that wasn’t seethrough- the restaurant was air-conditioned- and Ty Lee was wearing a pink two piece, with fitted trousers and a bell-sleeve crop top. Both Zuko and Mai had roughly the same thought, separated by about half a metre.

“So, you must be Zuko’s friends. It’s nice to meet you. I’m his father.”  
“Nice to meet you, sir.” Sokka smiled, and Ty Lee echoed him.  
“How was the party?” She asked.  
“A huge success. Always a good idea to keep up with business connections. Some connections have been especially lucrative, hmm?” He looked at Mai, whose face remained expressionless.  
“Father-” Zuko tried to interject.  
“What sort of connections?” Ty Lee smiled politely.  
“Well, you’ll know about Zuko and Mai’s engagement, of course. But it’s not just that- Mai’s father and I have been in talks for months now about merging our companies, and it’s all about to go ahead.”  
She wished she hadn’t asked.  
So did everybody else.

Dinner was an awkward affair for everyone involved, and each of them believed that they were the sole cause of the awkwardness. After a brief conversation where Mai and Zuko explained, in vague terms, that they were, for all intents and purposes, engaged, and both of them longed the whole time to explain that they could not be less attracted to each other, that they were both in love with somebody else at that table. Except that they had both relied for so long on believing that the other person knew what they were thinking. Actually voicing those things, saying them out loud, somehow felt like a violation of trust. They were caught between a rock and a hard place.

Except that Sokka and Ty Lee didn’t care. Because neither of them was interested in Mai or Zuko. They were just a group of friends, hanging out in a restaurant.

**Author's Note:**

> come say hi on tumblr! @creamsodalesbian


End file.
